This is a little late this week, but it has been a busy week with MIAC meetings, high school hockey playoffs and preparation for the MIAC Championship game. I wanted to give you a quick recap on the game this past Saturday against St. Thomas and a look forward to our game this Saturday at Augsburg.
This past Saturday we played St. Thomas in the MIAC semifinal at the National Hockey Center in St. Cloud. It was a great game and we came away with the 4-1 victory in front of a great crowd. This was the best 60-minute game that we have played all year and I was happy with the team’s buy-in and commitment to playing disciplined playoff hockey. We got a great performance in net again by Andrew Lindgren, who made 39 saves on 40 shots on net. We also got a great performance by senior defenseman Sean Lang, who scored two goals with the game-winner, and senior forward Evan Okeley added two goals. It was a very good playoff victory and will really help us moving into the hostile environment this weekend at Augsburg.
This Saturday we face Augsburg in the MIAC Championship at their rink in Minneapolis. We played them in the same situation back in 2016 and lost a thriller, 5-4 in three overtimes. This year will be another great atmosphere and game. We are expecting the game to be sold out and we have already sold out of our SJU issued tickets. We were given 200 tickets for the game and they sold out in two days. If you are interested in attending the game, we have been told that there will be a limited amount of tickets still available day of the game and ticket sales will start at 4pm in foyer of ice arena with doors opening at 5pm and a game time of 7pm. This is going to be a fun atmosphere for both the fans and the players.
With all that said, it is going to be a big challenge for our guys. Augsburg is having a great year with a 20-3-3 record and a MIAC regular-season championship. They have a very deep roster with several Division I transfers. Earlier this season, we played them to a 2-2 tie at home then a 5-1 loss on the road. We know what we need to do to get this win and we have worked hard this week to implement those things into our game. I look forward to the challenge and I look forward to seeing all the Johnnie Red in the building this Saturday.
Thanks for all your support and Go Johnnies!
